Shattered glass on the road, blood stains on a bamboo fence and a pall of gloom are what that remain at the Panjuri Kachari village in Assam's Karbi Anglong district. Two men from Guwahati were lynched after locals suspected them to be child abductors, the village is desolate and most young men have fled, fearing police action.
The victims - Abhijit Nath and Nilotpal Das - travelling in a black SUV were stopped around 1930 hrs on Friday mere minutes after rumours had spread that the two had kidnapped a child and fled in a black car. Locals say that the rumour spread through phone calls that allegedly originated from Kanthilangso, a neighbouring village where Nath and Das had visited a waterfall earlier.
The rumour was short, "Puwali aase garir bhitorot"(There's a kid inside the car) but enough to get angry young men from Panjuri Kachari together to stop and check the SUV. A crowd of around 250 had dragged the duo out of the vehicle and hit them with sticks as others kicked them repeatedly even as the victims pleaded that they were Assamese. The mob continued to assault the duo even after they found no abducted child in the car!
By the time the police reached the site about 90 mts later, Nath had collapsed and Das was barely alive. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared dead.
Panjuri Kachari is home to just 90 families, mostly from the Kachari tribe and is the only Kachari majority village amid a cluster of 25 odd Karbi majority villages in the region. The locals got suspicious because no one travels in a car through the area late in the evening, particularly when panic about child abductors had spread.
According to the police, the lynching was the culmination of fear mongering over a week, in the region, about child abduction. The rumours were passed by word of mouth, posts on Facebook and social media!
Epilogue.
Both the boys were music and nature loving friends who had gone into the wild in search of a rare fish and a waterfall on Friday. They were originally from Guwahati, had met through common friends while in college. Nilotpal, after completing his BCom in Delhi University moved to Bombay in '11 to do a course in sound engineering from Andheri's Sound Idea Academy. He, then, settled in Assagao in Goa four years ago where he set up a company specialising in multi-dimensional psychedelic art installations and visual landscapes for dance floors at Goa's party events. He sported shoulder length hair!
Abhijit, who studied mechanical engineering at SRM University in Madras had moved back to his hometown in '11 following his mother's ill health and there, he ran his own arts and entertainment events management firm. Fondly called 'Metal' for his love of heavy metal bands, he was passionate about breeding dogs and exotic fish at home. Nilotpal, popularly called 'Nil', was a self taught biker, explorer, cook and musician skilled at playing multiple ethnic instruments like the djembe, didgeridoo and a regular at harp festivals around the country.
Nilotpal had come riding on his mobike, all the way from Goa, to meet the gory end along with his friend, Abhijit!
My take.
I do not know you but what I've come to know is that both of you were energetic and talented youngsters, with a zest for life. RIP, Metal and Nil. My tears and prayers and here's wishing that your near and dear ones have the strength to tide over their irreplaceable loss.
Tailpiece.
Fake news must be shunned at all costs. Verification is a must before believing in what has come about. And here's a fervent appeal to each one of you, "Please do not spread fake news. Desist from the temptation".
The victims - Abhijit Nath and Nilotpal Das - travelling in a black SUV were stopped around 1930 hrs on Friday mere minutes after rumours had spread that the two had kidnapped a child and fled in a black car. Locals say that the rumour spread through phone calls that allegedly originated from Kanthilangso, a neighbouring village where Nath and Das had visited a waterfall earlier.
The rumour was short, "Puwali aase garir bhitorot"(There's a kid inside the car) but enough to get angry young men from Panjuri Kachari together to stop and check the SUV. A crowd of around 250 had dragged the duo out of the vehicle and hit them with sticks as others kicked them repeatedly even as the victims pleaded that they were Assamese. The mob continued to assault the duo even after they found no abducted child in the car!
By the time the police reached the site about 90 mts later, Nath had collapsed and Das was barely alive. They were rushed to a hospital where they were declared dead.
Panjuri Kachari is home to just 90 families, mostly from the Kachari tribe and is the only Kachari majority village amid a cluster of 25 odd Karbi majority villages in the region. The locals got suspicious because no one travels in a car through the area late in the evening, particularly when panic about child abductors had spread.
According to the police, the lynching was the culmination of fear mongering over a week, in the region, about child abduction. The rumours were passed by word of mouth, posts on Facebook and social media!
Epilogue.
Both the boys were music and nature loving friends who had gone into the wild in search of a rare fish and a waterfall on Friday. They were originally from Guwahati, had met through common friends while in college. Nilotpal, after completing his BCom in Delhi University moved to Bombay in '11 to do a course in sound engineering from Andheri's Sound Idea Academy. He, then, settled in Assagao in Goa four years ago where he set up a company specialising in multi-dimensional psychedelic art installations and visual landscapes for dance floors at Goa's party events. He sported shoulder length hair!
Abhijit, who studied mechanical engineering at SRM University in Madras had moved back to his hometown in '11 following his mother's ill health and there, he ran his own arts and entertainment events management firm. Fondly called 'Metal' for his love of heavy metal bands, he was passionate about breeding dogs and exotic fish at home. Nilotpal, popularly called 'Nil', was a self taught biker, explorer, cook and musician skilled at playing multiple ethnic instruments like the djembe, didgeridoo and a regular at harp festivals around the country.
Nilotpal had come riding on his mobike, all the way from Goa, to meet the gory end along with his friend, Abhijit!
My take.
I do not know you but what I've come to know is that both of you were energetic and talented youngsters, with a zest for life. RIP, Metal and Nil. My tears and prayers and here's wishing that your near and dear ones have the strength to tide over their irreplaceable loss.
Tailpiece.
Fake news must be shunned at all costs. Verification is a must before believing in what has come about. And here's a fervent appeal to each one of you, "Please do not spread fake news. Desist from the temptation".
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